Rodong Sinmun calls Panmunjom meeting an astonishing event

Following the surprise meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the truce village of Panmunjom, North Korean news outlets called it an “astonishing event” that created an unprecedented amount of trust between the U.S. and North Korea. They drew the significance of this event from the alacrity of the meeting at the highest level where protocols and security escort were cut to a minimum.

“The historic meeting at Panmunjom was made possible overnight following President Trump’s proposal,” said the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of North Korea. “An astounding scene became reality where the two heads of the U.S. and North Korea shake their hands at Panmunjom, the symbol of a divided Korea, for the first time in 66 years since the armistice treaty was signed in 1953.” As to President Trump’s setting foot in the North Korean territory at the truce village, the newspaper described it as “a historic moment where an incumbent U.S. president makes a step into the North Korean territory,” adding that it signified the beginning of a new history for reconciliation and peace at Panmunjom, a place etched with a prolonged history of distrust, misunderstanding, conflict, and animosity.

The Rodong Sinmun said the two heads of state had an independent session of confabulation and meeting, adding that they agreed to renew and push for a series of productive dialogues to yield a breakthrough in denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and U.S.-North Korea relations. The report was an official public announcement on the renewal of denuclearization talks between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, who was apparently shocked by the failure to clinch a deal in the Hanoi summit in February. Notably, it was verified by North Korean media that the meeting was attended by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo, a nicety typically kept in the dark.


In-Chan Hwang hic@donga.com